Relapse triggers are a very real part of addiction – but you can take steps to fight back. Your first step: Identify your personal triggers. Next, create a plan to take action so they don’t threaten your hard-won sobriety. Here are a few common triggers to watch out for:

1. HALT: Hunger, Anger, Loneliness, and Tiredness: This acronym was designed to remind you to stop and ask yourself: “Am I feeling hungry, angry, lonely, or tired?” When these basic needs aren’t met, you’re more likely to engage in self-destructive behaviors, including relapse.

2. Social isolation: Isolating yourself from friends, family, peers and professionals from the addiction community is a slippery slope into relapse. Now more than ever, it’s essential to have a solid support system in place.

3. Celebration: Not all triggers are negative. In fact, a positive event – like a job promotion or new apartment – can make you rationalize a celebratory drink, for instance. Take time to plan ahead and have a list of some sober ways to celebrate your successes.

4. Overconfidence: While self-confidence is an important part of your mental health and lasting sobriety, too much confidence can be dangerous to your recovery. It can lead you to mistakenly think you can handle a high-risk situation that could easily trigger a relapse. The trick is finding a healthy balance of confidence, cautiousness and humility

5. New relationships: Most addiction experts urge against romantic relationships within the first year of recovery. This is because it’s easy to develop an unhealthy dependence and to relapse should the relationship come to an end.

Aftercare for Lifetime SobrietyBuilt on the same spiritual foundations as the inpatient facilities and detox services we offer, the use of outpatient drug and alcohol, mental health or other services can be used to help you develop relapse prevention strategies and build on the recovery you gained during rehab. To learn more, call today: 877-310-9545.

Some people call addiction “the loneliness disease.” This is because loneliness can trigger alcohol and drug use – and it can also be an emotion that sticks with you well into recovery. It’s more than just feeling alone, however, it’s feeling that no one understands or cares about you – even when your loved ones are supporting and cheering you on. While these feelings are normal, they are also dangerous to your physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing and your long-term sobriety.

Now, for the good news: Overcoming loneliness is possible. In addition to working with your addiction counselor or mental health professional, you can ease these feelings with the following steps:

Take time for silence. Find some place of silence so that you can read, pray, meditate, listen and allow God to help you overcome these feelings of isolation and loneliness.

Lean on friends and family. Strong social ties have been shown to help with recovery and your overall health, so carve out quality time with loved ones. This is also the perfect time to make amends, if possible, and reconnect with the people who have been deeply hurt by your addiction.

Join a support group. Meeting others within the recovery community – whether online or in-person – will help you build a network of support and remind you that you’re not alone in your struggles to stay sober.

Find a hobby. Discovering or rediscovering a passion is a great way to lift your spirits and combat any feelings of isolation. This is especially true if your chosen hobby gets you out and about and aligns you with like-minded people.

Get involved. Whether you decide to volunteer or become more active in your local church community, giving back to others is a surefire remedy for loneliness. It will help remind you that you’re not alone and bolster your confidence by proving that you can have a positive impact on others.

Your Christian Partner in Recovery
The founding principle of Christian Rehab Network is that you should never have to walk the journey toward sobriety alone. We’ll help you find your way back to the Lord and achieve a truly lasting recovery. To learn more, call: 877-310-9545.

Failure to launch syndrome, the term used to describe a young person’s inability to leave home and begin an independent lifestyle, is a growing epidemic.

In general, young adults with failure to launch will have trouble following through with opportunities and display an overall lack of goal setting. And, after failing to navigate college, they often find themselves out of sync with their peers and in constant conflict with their families.

A few more red flags:

Low levels of motivation

Inability to find or keep a job

Poor work ethic and inability to meet deadlines

Lack of vision for the future

Unwillingness to face responsibilities, such as paying bills or maintaining an apartment or home

Inability to manage chores or daily tasks

Inability to deal with stress or conflict

Poor decision-making skills

Low frustration threshold

Fear of taking chances

Co-Occurring Disorders to Watch Out ForMany teens and young adults with failure to launch syndrome also have problems with substance use disorders as well as mental health disorders, including:

Anxiety

Depression

Drug and Alcohol Abuse

Eating Disorders

Gaming or Internet Addiction

Learning/Attention problems

Mood Disorders

Personality Disorders

Not only do these severe mental health problems prevent a young adult from becoming independent and reaching their full potential, but also they become compounded with a co-occurring substance use disorder. And abusing drugs or alcohol certainly doesn’t help with lack of motivation, low self-esteem and an inability to cope with the life challenges inherent in an adult world.

Getting Help for Failure-to-Launch and Substance AbuseSubstance use and failure to launch can impact brain development in adolescents, disrupting social, emotional and intellectual functioning. Our Adolescent Christian Rehab can help your young adult develop the skills needed to live healthy and sober on his or her own. To learn more, call us today: 877-310-9545.